RADIATION PATTERN OF PARABOLIC ANTENNA

OBJECTIVE:

To Perform an exercise and plot the Radiation pattern of Parabolic antenna.

EQUIPMENT REQUIRED:

The setup for this experiment requires the following equipment

Name of the Specifications/ Quantity Purpose

equipment Range
RF signal generator To feed the Transmitting
10 -850MHz 1 Antenna
Stand for
Transmitting 2-3 ft Height with To rotate the Antenna step wise
Antenna with 1
clamp
rotating Mount
Of suitable
Parabolic Antenna frequency range 1 To generate the Radiation pattern
(4.9-6.1 GHz )

Receiving Antenna Good sensitivity 1 To sense the radiation of the

transmitting Antenna
Stand for receiving To hold the receiving Antenna
2-3 ft Height with
Antenna 1
clamp
Frequency : 10MHz 1 To measure the received power
Receiving Antenna -850MHz
power detector Power : dB Range
BNC TYPE As per To make connections
Connecting probes need

Theory :
A parabolic antenna is used for microwave radio communications. It is frequently referred to as a
dish antenna. It lie of a parabolic reflector which collects and concentrates an incoming parallel
beam of radio waves and focuses them onto the actual antenna placed at its focal point or focus.
The actual antenna at the focus is sometimes referred to as the antenna feed. See Figure 1. In this
paper, the term antenna will refer to the actual antenna at the focal point of the parabolic reflector
and parabolic antenna refers to its antenna together with its parabolic reflector.
Satellite television dish antennas are an example of popular parabolic microwave antennas. A
parabolic antenna is similar to a reflecting telescope where a parabolic concave mirror gathers
incoming light and focuses it into the eye piece. Another optical example is the vehicle headlight. A
parallel beam of light is reflected off the parabolic mirror behind the light bulb placed at its focus.

The following terminology is used in describing a parabolic reflector. The focus is where all the
incoming radio waves are concentrated. The vertex is the innermost point at the center of the
parabolic reflector. The focal length of a parabola is the distance from its focus to its vertex. The
aperture length of a parabolic reflector is its opening and is described by its diameter. Also of
interest is the depth of the parabolic reflector which is discussed below. The two dimensions that
describe a parabolic reflector are the focal length f and the diameter D of its aperture. The industrial
practice is to use the f/D ratio to specify the shape of the parabolic reflector and the diameter D of
its aperture. For a given parabolic reflector, the focal length f is directly obtained by multiplying its
f/D ratio by its diameter D.
Parabolic antenna beam width calculation: The gain of the parabolic antenna, increases, so the
beam width falls. Normally the beam width is defined as the points where the power falls to half of
the maximum, i.e. the -3dB points on a radiation pattern polar diagram. It is possible to estimate the
beam width reasonably accurately from the following formula.
Beam width ψ = 70 λ/D
Model Graph:

Procedure.

1. Arrange the setup as given in the block diagram.

2. Mount Half wave dipole antenna on the receiver end and placed at a distance approximately r
≥2L2/ƛ such that transmitter and receiver signals do not interfere. (L-length of the non-rotating
antenna measured by scale)
3. Adjust the height of both transmitting and receiving antennas and ensure that both the antennas
are in same height.
5. The transmitting antenna (Parabolic Antenna) was connected to a RF generator.
6. Set the RF generator frequency in the range of (4.9-6.1 GHz) and note down the input power.
7. The receiving antenna was connected to a RF detector to display power in dBs.
8. Align arrow mark on the disc at rotating antenna with zero of the goniometer scale.
9. Start taking the reading at the interval of 30 deg or 45deg in rotation upto 360 deg on the
goniometer scale, and note down the power received at the receiver.

10. Plot the polar graph in degrees of rotation of antenna against level in the detector in dBs.
Observations:

1. Signal power at transmitting side observed in the RF power detector, Pi = dB

Angle of rotation (degrees) Received signal strength

Power in detector Gain(dB)=10log10(P0/Pi)

00

450

900

1350

1800

2250

2700

3150

3600

Result: